


Love at First Punch

by chaoticsarahh



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Halloween, Haunted House, Meet-Cute, Mild Language, No Blood, Rey is claustrophobic, Someone gets punched, but it's not a big deal, just some bruises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:56:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27124853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaoticsarahh/pseuds/chaoticsarahh
Summary: Going to a haunted house should be no big deal for Rey. She's not scared of anything. Even long, dark, spooky hallways.In which Rey gets freaked out at a haunted house and punches employee Ben Solo.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 12
Kudos: 97





	Love at First Punch

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Halloween y'all. I know nothing about haunted houses or punching people, so naturally I wrote about both.

“They’re not scary. It’s a bunch of fellow college kids covered in cheap makeup and fake blood.” 

Rose rolls her eyes.

“You’re the one who agreed to come to the scariest haunted house in the southwest. I think you’re scared you’re actually going to be scared.”

Rey scoffs, glancing down the street before making a turn.

“Yeah right. As long as they don’t lock us in a tiny, dark box, I’ll be fine. I’m just here to watch y’all scream.”

Rose perks up as they drive up to a large barn, red paint chipping and creaking in the fall breeze.

“That’s it! Pull in there. The others should already be around here somewhere.”

Rey spots Poe’s battered CR-V and parks next to it.

She tumbles out of the car to find Poe, Finn and Kaydel already converging around her vehicle, whooping with excitement.

“Gang’s all here! Time to get our spooky on.”

Poe wiggles his fingers in what is a poor imitation of a ghost. Finn shoots Poe a skeptical look.

“Dude, the sun has barely set. It’s not exactly prime spooky hours.”

Poe huffs in frustration.

“When we get into the barn and it’s completely pitch black you’ll be changing your tune.”

He spins around and marches towards the ticket window, not bothering to see if everyone is following.

“Come on. Let’s go pee our pants.”

“Ewww!”

“Gross, Poe stop it!”

“I’m going to kill you if this is scary enough that I pee my pants.”

\---

They’re standing just outside the entrance to the barn, about to go in. The only problem is no one wants to be at the back of the group. Kaydel has a death grip on Rose’s arm, and swears she’s dragging her with her to the back if she’s forced to go. Finn has staked a claim to the middle, and Poe, the enthusiastic leader, has decided he will forge ahead first.

That leaves Rey.

She huffs impatiently.

“It’s fine. I’ll be sure to tell you if there are any axe murderers sneaking up behind us.”

Rose and Finn let out a collective sigh of relief, and Kaydel looks like she could practically kiss Rey.

Poe grins.

“It’s time to go in. Everyone ready?”

The group shuffles forward, Kaydel and Rose still gripping each other tightly behind Finn, who is doing his best to stay in the middle and protected on all sides. Rey hangs a few steps back, admiring the gothic Victorian decor they suddenly find themselves in. Rey finds it a little disarming, considering they are technically inside a barn. Still, there is something rather beautiful about the oversized chandelier draped in cobwebs illuminating a narrow hallway filled with painted portraits.

Poe proceeds with caution, scanning warily as he treads on a deep red carpet. They’re about halfway down the hallway when the lights flicker out, plunging them into darkness.

“Oh shit!”

Rey runs into the back of Finn, realizing a little too late they stopped. She can barely see Kaydel shaking, looking absolutely terrified. Rose doesn’t look much better. Even Poe has lost some of the swagger from his voice when he finally speaks up.

“Well...we have to keep going, I guess.”

The group slowly traipses forward, making it a few yards before…

“Oh my god get off me get off me get off!”

Rey spots Rose fighting off a person leaning out from one of the paintings. Interesting. They must not have noticed when the row of portraits started to look a little more three dimensional than they were supposed to. Rey waved at one a few feet back. The person seemed shocked she didn’t sprint away screaming at the top of her lungs.

However, the rest of her group got the sprinting and screaming memo, because that’s exactly what they’re doing. 

“It’s not even that scary,” Rey mutters under her breath as she picks up the pace, trying to catch up to them. She hits the end of the hallway and takes a left, the noise made by Poe and Company slowly fading into the distance. Rey sighs, unexpectedly alone in a grand dining room. A table sits at the center, full of half-rotted plastic food, lit by twinkling fake candlelight.

“At least now I’m not encumbered by a bunch of wimps,” Rey murmurs as she strides to the other end, dodging the hands reaching for her ankles from under the table, and not even blinking at the shadowy figure jumping out from behind the curtains. Seriously, if they wanted more convincing vampires, maybe don’t choose a gangly redhead in an outfit that looks like it was raided from his great granddad’s closet. At least he’s got the sickly pallor going for him. He looks like he hasn’t been in the sun for weeks.

Rey leaves the dining room and walks into an ornate bedroom. A queen-size canopy bed sits at the center, blood soaking through the otherwise pristine white sheets. Rey jumps a little when a blonde woman in the corner starts wailing, blood seeping from two small puncture wounds on her neck.

“Please...help me.”

She starts to drag herself towards Rey, but Rey is too quick, darting around her to face down another narrow hallway with a low ceiling. This one has no portraits on the walls, only black wallpaper and black carpet. And it’s dark. Very dark. Rey has pretty good vision, and she can see this hallway is pitch-black. There’s a fluttering in Rey’s stomach that she tries to tamp down. She’s a little claustrophobic, and a little scared of the dark, and somehow this hallway seems like a big bad idea. 

Rey takes a deep breath and steels herself, mumbling, “it’s okay. It’s just a hallway. It’s okay.” She takes a few tentative steps into the darkness, before finally taking the plunge and marching in. She slows down after a few seconds, trying her best to not freak herself out. Getting in her own head will only send her spiraling, and that’s the last thing she wants. 

She takes a few more steps before bumping into a wall. She reaches out a hand, slowly, finally feeling the wall take a 45 degree turn to the right. Rey follows, letting her hand on the wall guide her. Finally, she can make out a faint light in the distance. Or at least she thinks it’s a faint light. Hopefully her eyes aren’t playing tricks on her. She gasps in relief, letting her guard down for one moment.

That’s when she feels it. A slight tickling on her shoulder. Something is touching her.

Rey’s stomach flies to her throat, and her body is overcome in a rush of adrenaline. Blood pumps in her ears when her right hand squeezes into a fist, and acting on instinct, her arm pulls back and her fist flies towards the general direction of whatever is there.

Her knuckles connect with warm skin. There’s a strangled grunt, and the sweeping realization that Rey just _punched_ someone hits her.

“Oh shit, I’m so sorry, shit, I can’t see you are you ok?”

Rey is fumbling in the dark, trying to find the person she just socked in what she thinks is the face. Eventually her flailing arms connect with a warm body, and she’s so surprised she tries to step away, only to tangle her legs with theirs, sending them both tumbling into a heap on the floor.

She’s resting on what feels like their chest, which is warm and big and solid. She feels them breath in before a low voice replies, “I’ve been better.”

Rey scrambles for her bag, fingers finally grasping her phone. She flips on the flashlight and points it at the other person and gasps.

Now this is what a vampire should look like. He looks to be about her age. His Victorian-era clothes are offset by wavy, raven-black hair brushing his shoulders. He is a pale, striking man who’s big. Very big. Rey’s stomach dissolves into butterflies because he’s also hot. The man she punched in the face is hot. And he looks rather grumpy. One massive hand is rubbing the left side of his face. He grunts in annoyance and squints away from her phone.

“Could you point that anywhere else?”

Rey flushes, and points her phone up to the ceiling, casting them both in a bizarre electric light.

“Sorry.”

They sit in tense silence for a moment, until he speaks, sounding even more irritated.

“Can you get up? You’re sitting on me and I need to go tell my manager I have to take the rest of the night off.”

Rey squeaks out some incomprehensible answer (she’s not even sure what she’s trying to say) and clambers to stand up. He pointedly ignores Rey’s extended hand. Once he’s standing, Rey realizes he’s tall, so tall he has to hunch a little in the hallway to not bang his head. That must’ve been why Rey ended up hitting his face and not his chest.

“Do you need me to go with you? Of course I’ll take full responsibility, it was all my fault - ”

“No,” he replies curtly. “That won’t be necessary. We all sign a waiver when we start. We know the risks. And you didn’t break anything. I’ll just have a nasty bruise.”

He turns abruptly and walks down the hallway, a shadowy hulking figure.

“Come on. I’ll walk you out.”

Rey doesn’t know what to say, so she follows him. 

She checks him out as much as she can. Her first instinct was correct. He is hot. He’s also a bit of a dick. Although he probably has a reason to be a dick considering she punched him.

He finds a hidden door towards the end of the hallway, and opens it so Rey can walk through. She flips off her phone flashlight now they’re back where only employees can go. He leads her through a strange maze of extra costumes and decorations thrown over extra props. They reach another door, this one leading back out to the front. He pushes it open and waits for Rey to step through. She’s about to turn around to apologize again but he’s already gone, the door shutting softly behind her.

Rey groans. This was very not good. This was supposed to be a fun, silly activity to do with her friends, not something that could potentially get her sued. Could he sue her? She didn’t read whatever waiver she had to sign to enter, but she’s pretty sure “punching one of the very attractive but kind of asshole employees” is on the no-no list. 

Rey collapses on a nearby bench, waiting for her friends to get out. She has to wait about ten minutes, spending the time chewing her lip and imagining every possible scenario that could play out with Hot Employee She Punched - everything from a court date to a real date. Finally she spots Poe and Company walking past her, laughing with each other. None of them notice her, and Rey rolls her eyes.

“Hey! Am I invisible or what?”

The group spins around, startled. Poe is the first to speak.

“Rey! Weren’t you behind us? How did you get out so quick?”

Rey resists the urge to roll her eyes again.

“After you _abandoned_ me, I got freaked out in that dark hallway and ended up punching one of the employees when he tried to touch me.”

Finn and Poe gasp, and Kaydel looks like she’s about to laugh. Rose looks thoughtful.

“Tall guy? Very broad? Looks a little like Dracula?”

Rey nods.

“He’s hot.”

Poe makes a noise like he’s choking on something, and Kaydel and Finn burst into laughter.

“Oh my god stop it! What am I going to say? Hi, sorry I hit you, want to get dinner? Sorry to burst your bubble, but that’s no way to land a date.”

Rose assumes her “I’m not taking anyone’s shit” pose with her hands on her hips, and stares down at Rey.

“Where’d he go? Where is he right now?”

Rey meekly replies, “he had to tell his boss can’t work the rest of the night.”

Rose nods, a knowing look on her face. Rey can tell she’s formulating a plan.

“Here’s what’s going to happen - I’m going to get a ride with Poe. You’re going to wait until he comes out to leave and you’re going to talk to him.”

Rey opens her mouth to say something but Rose cuts her off.

“No. No talkback. You think he’s attractive?”

Rey nods.

“You want to see him again?”

Rey nods again.

“Then it’s settled. Talk to him and make sure he’s okay. I’m not telling you to stick your tongue down his throat or anything.” 

Rey considers sticking her tongue down his throat for a second and finds she rather likes the idea.

“Okay, alright, I’ll talk to him.”

Rose claps her hands and grins gleefully, causing Poe and Finn to huff in exasperation.

“If we’re done trying to set Rey up, Waffle House is calling. I’m hungry and ready to go, people!”

Rey’s friends shuffle off, but not before Kaydel winks at Rey and mouths “get it, girl.” 

Rey is left alone on the bench, twiddling her thumbs and waiting for Hot Employee She Punched to appear. She’s getting antsy, and starts counting the orange leaves on a nearby tree to pass the time.

She eventually spots a lumbering figure out of the corner of her eye. Sure enough. He’s changed, now dressed in black jeans and a plain black t-shirt instead of the elaborate waistcoat he was sporting earlier. He clutches a large bag of ice in one hand, a bruise clearly forming on his face. Another wave of guilt rushes over Rey, and she quickly calls to him.

***

“Hey!”

There is a voice yelling behind Ben. It sounds familiar, but there’s no one that would be calling for him. He just wants to go sit in the parking lot, put some ice on his face, and wait for Hux and Phasma to get off to give him a ride home.

The voice behind him gets louder, and suddenly he realizes why it sounds so familiar.

“Guy I punched in the face! Hello!”

Ben can’t believe his ears. Did Hot Girl That Punched Him wait for him? He gradually turns around, dumbstruck, to see her waving at him from a nearby bench. She’s as pretty as he remembered - is it possible freckles could sparkle in moonlight?

He slowly makes his way towards her, a little skeptical that she isn’t going to realize this was a bad idea and go running off. He knows he was kind of an asshole to her. Apparently it’s some sort of coping mechanism to keep people at a distance. His therapist says it’s something he should work on.

He’s towering over her now, peering down as she opens her mouth and closes it again, trying to find something to say.

“Are you okay?”

Ben can tell his question takes her by surprise. She stares at him in shock.

“Wha- yeah, I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be fine?”

He gestures to her hand.

“Punching people can sometimes pack quite the punch.”

She snorts, eyes crinkled with glee.

“That was terrible. But no, my hand is fine. Sorry to report you’re not the first person I’ve punched and I know how to do it proper.”

She pauses a moment before asking -

“Do you want to sit? Or do you have somewhere to be?”

Ben shakes his head, and replies as he settles next to her.

“I have to wait for my friends to get off work to give me a ride.”

“Wait, so you’re stuck here? For - how long is this place open?”

Ben grimaces.

“Another three hours. Not counting the time it takes to clean up after.”

She makes a noise and says something, but Ben isn’t paying attention. His face starts throbbing from talking, so he holds the bag of ice up to his face.

Ben sees her inch closer until her thigh is pressed up against his, and gently pries the bag from his hand.

“Here, let me.”

He acquiesces, and lets her tend to him.

“I’m truly sorry I punched you. I didn’t mean to. Well, I did mean to punch you, I’m just sorry I did it. I get really worked up in dark spaces, I feel like the walls are closing in on me, and you startled me, and it was a gut reaction-”

Ben cuts off her rambling.

“It’s okay. You’re forgiven. Really, I should be thanking you, otherwise I’d’ve had to lurk there for another few hours, and dark places freak me out too.”

He looks over at her, and she’s so close, leaning into him as she ices his face. Ben can count the freckles on the bridge of her nose, see each eyelash flutter on her cheek as her eyes flick from his, down to his lips, then up to his eyes again.

A fire sparks low in his belly, and he hopes she can feel it too.

She leans in, her hot breath ghosting over his lips. Ben’s mind short-circuits.

He doesn’t even know her name, he thinks to himself as he crashes into her, lips meeting in a clash of teeth and tongues.

She kisses him like she’s trying to devour him. She must have thrown the ice somewhere behind her because she’s practically sitting in his lap with both hands tangled in his hair.

Ben grips her hips, trying to anchor himself to something as he gets lost in her. He commits to memory the little pants she breaths into his mouth, and the moans so quiet he’s not sure if it’s his imagination or not. One of her hands tugs at his hair especially hard, and he growls, breaking away from her lips to nip at her neck. Her breathing picks up, and she brings a hand down to cup his cheek. As soon as her hand makes contact, he grunts, pain shooting through his face.

She realizes almost immediately and pulls away, face flushed but scrunched in concern.

“I’m so sorry, I got caught up in the moment and forgot-”

Ben waves a hand at her.

“Stop apologizing. I promise you the pain was worth it.”

He didn’t think it was possible for her to blush more, but she somehow managed to turn a deeper shade of red.

“I’m glad.”

She pauses a moment, biting her lip and looking over his shoulder when she speaks.

“I have a car. I can drive you home, if you’d like. And you know, if you feel like someone should be there to make sure you’re ok, or drive you to urgent care in case your face starts hurting, I can stay over. Only if you want me to though, of course-”

Ben tries to keep his expression calm, but inside, he’s dancing like he won the lottery. The thought of this woman - he really needs to ask her name - hanging out at his apartment, eating his food, sleeping in his bed is enough to make him feel like a little kid on Christmas.

Ben winks.

“I’ll take you up on that offer.”

She beams, and makes to walk to the parking lot, but Ben’s hand gripped around her wrist stops her.

“But first, you need to tell me your name.”

“Rey. My name’s Rey.”

He smiles at her with nothing short of awe painted across his face.

“Rey. Just like sunshine.”

Making Rey blush may just be Ben’s new favorite activity.

“Nice to meet you, Rey. I’m Ben.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come yell at me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/chaoticsarahh).


End file.
